Art Theory Blog: Alexa Gaul

Saturday, April 28, 2012

This project was done in response to the Bourriaud and Bishop readings. The cardboard castle is made of recycled material and is meant as a satirical response to the creepiness of Disney World. On the surface, Disney seems like a magical place, but underneath it has many secret workings, corruption ,etc. Thus, the outside of the castle was covered in paper to hide its shabby looking construction, and the inside was left bare to reveal the true construction behind the piece. Also, the piece responds to the childhood nostalgia of disney, cardboard creations, and childlike play. The paper on the outside can be written on, and I left markers next to the castle so that people could draw on and interact with the piece. I'll be leaving the piece up the rest of this week and posting pictures of how the castle has changed.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Influential Quotes from the readings:
"Nowadays, modernity extends into the practices of cultural do-it-yourself and recycling, into the invention of the everyday and the development of time lived [...]" (Bourriaud reading pg 14).
"The possibility of relational art (an art taking as its theoretical horizon the realm of human interactions and its social context, rather than the assertion of an independent and private symbolic space), points to a radical upheaval of the aesthetic, cultural, and political goals introduced by modern art" (Bourriaud reading pg 14).
"Art is the place that produces a specific sociability" (Bourriaud reading pg 16).
"Art is a state of encounter" (Bourriaud reading pg 18).
"Hans Ulrich Obrist, Barbara van der Linden, Hou Hanru, and Nicolas Bourriaud- have to a large extent been encouraged to adopt this curatorial modus operandi as a direct reaction to the type of art produced in the 1990s: work that is open-ended, interactive, and resistant to closure, often appearing to be "work-in-progress" rather than a completed object" (Bishop reading pg 52).

From these readings I gathered the following ideas and influenced that I would like to include in my project:
-Bring in current political issues or trends such as the increase in social media and recycling
-Use recycled or available materials in my project rather than create new ones to emphasize the idea of artists working with what they have (reality), rather than trying to create a utopian example or having a utopian focus.
-Create a piece that is interactive and emphasizes the increase in social exchange including social networking, tv, radio, and other media.
-Create a piece that is dependent on participants other than the artist, to bring in a "social exchange." Also, this means that the piece will originally be unfinished and will only be completed through the participation of the audience.

I have two different ideas that I have for this piece:

1) Installation- Using cardboard boxes I would like to create a public work of art that students and faculty can experience. Essentially, I would create a cardboard playground/ castle and see how people interact with the installation. The installation itself along with the audiences interactions will create the finished piece. Also, I would like to create opportunities for the audience to add to the piece such as leaving out markers to draw on the boxes, or leave games inside sections of the structure.

2) Media- I would create a funny facebook post, or multiple, relating to current memes to demonstrate the influence of social networking and the internet. The post would reflect current trends and ideas that have rapidly passed around social networking sites such as facebook. Part of the project would consist of seeing how people react to and comment on the post (s) and to see if they respond with their own ideas. This piece will focus on interaction and exchange, and is just as reliant on the audience as it is on the artist. This project would also respond to current and political events through its reflection of social media and the rapid spread of information and ideas.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

This installation is a response to the Bachelard and Bishop readings for installation. I took inspiration from the following artists in my piece: James Turell and Claudia Borgna. I used the ideas of playing with the senses, light and perspective from the Bishop reading and James Turell's work. Claudia Borgna inspired me to create organic looking pieces from inorganic objects like plastic bags. I was influenced by the Bachelard reading by attempting to do the opposite of what it intended: create an installation that was unfamiliar and odd, rather than one that reminded people of memories, their home, and comfort. Besides the construction itself, this installation is a response on consumerism and our modern daily lives, by taking objects that we normally use, waste, and experience every day out of their original, familiar context.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

I really like the installation pieces by Christo and Jean-Claude. I'm using them as my inspiration for my installation by using repeating patterns or objects to alter the landscape. I've also been inspired by Claudia Borgna who creates various installation sculptures using plastic bags, wire, and a few other materials. I am pretty sure that I would like to create my installation piece using plastic bags just as she does. Here are some inspirations:

Friday, March 2, 2012

Performance art can be a very unusual and interesting medium for art, especially since it is often very concept based. In his piece," A Great Wall," Carr reflects on the conceptual art of a particular couple, Abromovic and Ulay. Both individuals did many conceptual performance works together, with the goal of achieving tasks that were physically difficult, mentally draining, and/or pushing the limits of the human ability. Carr reflects on this perseverance, determination, and willpower in their works, including one in particular: their journey across The Great Wall of China. Each individual started on opposite ends of the wall, and their journey was supposed to end when they met in the middle. The piece was originally meant to show the power of love, as both artists wanted to demonstrate the strength of their bond by individually conquering obstacles and then coming back together to share their journeys. However, this original concept fell apart, and the piece became much more about struggles and individual journeys. Carr emphasizes how both individuals approached the task in different ways, and completed the task of conceptual art: choosing and idea and following it through. Interestingly, both people disliked each other by the end of the journey, but it was the concepts of the piece that made them finish and brought them through. In the end, their love came from the love of their work, and not of eachother.